


Go see a star war

by BaronVonChop



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Crushes, F/F, Fluff, Friend Date, Michael cameo, Movie Night, Pre-Relationship, Tilly cameo, pizza and a movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 18:43:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19340371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonChop/pseuds/BaronVonChop
Summary: Joann Owosekun has never seen a Star Wars movie.As it turns out, Keyla Detmer is the biggest Star Wars nerd on theDiscovery.





	Go see a star war

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my wonderful beta reader for helping me with this story! Any remaining mistakes are my own.
> 
> Inspired by [raijuthehyeju](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raijuthehyeju)'s cute fics. Go check them out!

Keyla Detmer is easily Joann Owosekun’s favorite crewmate. Keyla is friendly, smart, and one of the prettiest people Joann has ever met. Joann enjoys spending her free time with her, sharing meals, talking about their day, and exercising together. When they are on duty together, she feels like they understand each other, working together and anticipating each other’s actions. The only thing that Joann does not understand is why Keyla sometimes says things that do not make sense. What is the Force, and how should she use it? Why would she be looking for droids? And why does Keyla sometimes talk backwards?

Keyla smiles when she says these things, and everyone else seems to get it. Joann starts to formulate a few theories. Perhaps this Luke Skywalker person was stationed on Discovery before Joann arrived. Maybe Yoda taught a course at Starfleet Academy that a lot of the Discovery crew attended, but Joann just happened to miss. It all starts to make sense, maybe.

One day, as Joann is finishing up lunch with Keyla and Tilly, Keyla gets up and lifts her tray. “That was good food,” she says, then adds, “Good food, hrm?” in a voice that Joann is starting to recognize as the Yoda voice.

Tilly does a little laugh in the same voice. “Ree-hee-hee!”

Joann seizes the opportunity to test her theory. Once Keyla has left the table, she leans over to Tilly. “So, did you take a class from Yoda, too?”

Tilly snorts. “Yeah, I’m a Jedi.” She rolls her eyes.

Joann feels like she is onto something. “Oh, I missed the Jedi certification at the Academy. Which semester was it taught?”

Tilly’s smile freezes, then disappears into a wide-eyed look of shock. “Oh my gosh.” Joann is starting to feel nervous when Tilly’s shock starts to give way to excitement. She bounces in her chair. “Oh my gosh! Keyla, emergency!”

Keyla stops at the mess hall door and turns, her forehead knitting in confusion asymmetrically around her implant. Tilly waves her over energetically. Keyla relaxes when she sees that Tilly is now grinning, and she walks back to the table.

“Joann has never seen Star Wars,” Tilly exclaims.

“I have!” Joann protests. “What do you call that war against the Klingons? That was a star war, right?”

Tilly looks at Keyla with open-mouthed delight, and Keyla smiles, though her smile is more reserved. She sits down, her eyes on Joann. “Star Wars is a story a lot of us grew up on. It’s for kids, but a lot of adults love it, too.”

Tilly chuckles. “Yeah, because it’s awesome! And Keyla is the biggest Star Wars nerd on the ship.”

Keyla ducks her head and lowers her eyes. “I don’t know about… I mean…”

“Own it, girl!” Tilly crows. She leans toward Joann. “She basically has them all memorized. Plus, she even has the original 2D versions!”

Keyla swats Tilly. “I have the holographic remasters, too! I just prefer watching them in their original format.”

Joann looks from Tilly to Keyla, smiling at their enthusiasm. “How many star wars are there?”

“Oh, hm, good question,” Tilly says. She puffs her cheeks and blows out some air as she thinks. “I guess that depends on how you count them… let’s see…” She nudges Keyla. “Help me out here.”

“There’s a lot,” Keyla says. “There are the main movies, the spinoffs, and the TV shows, and then there’s novels, comics, video games…”

“What are they about?” Joann asks.

“Spaceships!” Tilly exclaims. “And laser guns, and aliens, and robots!”

Joann shakes her head a little, afraid she is missing something. “...and?”

Tilly quirks her lips. “Well, the first bunch were made before any of those things were, y’know, normal…”

“They’re about adventures,” Keyla says, her voice full of warmth. “They’re about ordinary people doing their best and becoming a family, all while saving the galaxy. Also, there’s magic.”

Tilly points to Keyla. “Yeah, that, too.”

Joann feels something in her stomach when Keyla describes Star Wars, something that makes her want to keep listening to Keyla talk about this thing she loves. “What kind of magic?”

Keyla glances at Tilly, waiting to see if Tilly wants to answer. Tilly waits for Keyla, who says, “There are some people who are born with a connection to the life force of all living things. If those people are trained, they can move things with their minds, and sense things, and even read minds.”

Michael Burnham just happens to be walking by with a tray of small sandwiches. “My brother reads minds,” she says matter-of-factly, though Joann thinks she sees a hint of a smile that, on anyone else, would be a full-on grin.

Tilly smiles back. “Yeah, well, can your brother wave his hand and convince people of stuff?”

Michael pauses and tilts her head. “That depends on whether those people are willing to listen to logic.”

“Ha!” Tilly exclaims, delighted.

Michael smiles, inclines her head, and goes to her table, while Tilly beams after her.

Keyla looks at Joann. Her cheeks go slightly pink as she asks, “Would you want to watch the movies with me?” She lowers her head slightly, and her hair sways forward so she can hide a little behind it.

Joann gazes back at her. She wants that, very much, but for some reason, she suddenly finds it hard to speak.

“Yeah,” Tilly says, breaking the spell, “we should totally…” She pauses for a second, her mouth forming a silent _oh_ of realization. “...watch those together when I’m not so busy, but you know I’m super busy these days, so you two should definitely watch some together.”

Joann finds her voice, though it is quiet. She is still looking at Keyla. “Would that be all right?”

Keyla nods. “I have a few hours free this evening, if you’re not doing anything?”

“No!” Joann says, so quickly that she startles Keyla and Tilly. They blink at her, and Joann stammers, “No, I mean, I’m not doing anything! Yes, let’s watch the movies!”

“Oh! Good!” Keyla says.

“Awesome,” Tilly says, smiling as she looks from one to the other. “Have fun, you two!” She bounces off, grinning far more than Joann thinks is necessary.

Kelya glances at Joann, a tentative smile on her lips. “So, I’ll see you tonight?”

“I’ll be there!” Joann replies. Then, because she has heard the others say it before, she adds, “The Force may be with us!”

Keyla’s smile widens. “It’s a start.”

* * *

Joann fidgets through her afternoon shift. She occasionally glances over at Keyla, who smiles back reassuringly. Joann wonders, not for the first time, how Keyla always seems to know when she is looking over at her. In any case, Keyla never seems to mind. Joann smiles back.

As the end of their shift approaches, Joann starts to wonder how long she should wait before she goes to Keyla’s quarters. What time did she mean by “this evening?” Should Joann hit the gym first? Some exercise might keep her mind occupied, so that she does not spend that time nervously anticipating their date.

No, it’s not a date, Joann reminds herself. They’re just watching some star wars together.

Joann needn’t have worried. The moment their shift ends, Keyla practically launches herself from her chair and hurries over to Joann. She must really love those star wars, Joann decides.

“Are you ready?” Keyla asks. She pauses, collecting herself. “We can grab some food and eat while we watch the movie.”

Joann nods. “I’m ready,” she says, and means it.

The two of them head to the mess hall, where Keyla orders two pizzas. Joann has had pizza before, but not often. “Trust me,” Keyla says, “it’s the perfect thing for movie night!”

Joann trusts her.

They make their way to Keyla’s quarters. Joann has seen them before, but now Keyla gives her a quick tour. “These are my Star Wars figures,” she says, pointing to a shelf. “These are my model sets.” Several display cases contain intricately detailed models. Finally, she places the pizza boxes on the bed and picks up a hairy stuffed toy. “And this is Chewbacca. Don’t laugh! I’ve had him since I was a kid.”

Joann can’t seem to stop smiling. “I’m not laughing,” she says.

Keyla gives her a dubious look, but she is smiling, too. “Okay, should we get started?”

Joann looks around. “Where should I sit?”

Keyla kicks off her shoes, hops onto the bed, and sits cross-legged with her back to the wall. She gestures to the opposite wall. “That’s the most empty wall space in the room, so I watch movies there.”

Joann takes off her shoes and only hesitates a moment before sitting next to Keyla on the bed. “What are we watching first?”

“I like to watch them in the order they were released. So, this is the first movie, originally released in 1977 as simply ‘Star Wars,’ then later renamed ‘Episode IV - A New Hope’ for its 1981 theatrical re-release…” She trails off, and Joann realizes she is staring. Keyla adjusts her hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“No, you’re--” Joann begins, then stops when she realizes that she almost said _beautiful when you’re talking about something you love_. “You’re fine,” she says quickly.

Keyla raises her eyebrow, but does not press. “Okay, here goes!” She grabs the pizza boxes, hands one to Joann, and opens the other one. She takes out a slice, takes a bite, and says with a full mouth, “Computer, lower lights and start the movie!”

The lights dim as Joann opens her box and takes out a slice. She almost drops it as a fanfare plays while the wall lights up with a logo surrounded by searchlights. Once the fanfare has finished, she says, “That’s loud!”

“Should I turn it down?” Keyla asks, concerned.

“No, I love it!”

Joann starts eating her pizza as the wall goes dark, displaying the words _A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…_

She nearly snorts out her pizza in surprise as a huge chord plays, even more dramatic than the fanfare a moment ago. She coughs as Keyla says, “Sorry, I should have warned you!” Keyla sounds apologetic even as she laughs, and it’s definitely worth it to hear her laugh.

“It’s okay,” Joann says. The music is bombastic and operatic, and it accompanies a scrolling wall of text that makes Joann wonder what she is getting herself into. A galactic empire, a death star, and a princess? The text recedes, recedes, recedes....

Then suddenly spaceship comes into view. Joann can tell that it is a model, and she assumes that the bursts of green and red are meant to be weapon blasts. The effect is rather dated, but fun. Then another spaceship comes into view, much larger than the first, and Joann stops chewing on her pizza for a moment. This looks serious. Whoever that Princess Leia mentioned in the opening might be, things just took a turn for the worse for her.

Then the film cuts to the interior of the starship, and she snorts a laugh around her pizza at what is clearly a person wearing a gold suit pretending to be a robot. Its companion, a stubby blue-and-gray robot, is almost as ridiculous.

“Hey, give it a chance!” Keyla says, her voice rising defensively.

“Okay, okay,” Joann chuckles, but she can’t help but smile and shake her head at the way the golden robot shuffles along, talking to its friend in a prissy accent.

Keyla keeps glancing over at Joann, perhaps worried her friend is not as drawn in as she had hoped.

When a dark figure appears, with foreboding music, Keyla nudges Joann. “Well? What do you think?”

“I guess he’s pretty cool,” Joann admits. She thinks the cape is a bit much, but she remembers that Keyla said that the films were for children.

Joann perks up when a mysterious figure in a white dress--could it be the princess?--places something into the smaller droid. The droids get away, but the princess gets captured. The bad guys take her to their black-clad leader.

“Woa, I like her!” Joann says, as the princess refuses to be intimidated by the dark lord. “She’s tough!”

“I knew you would!” Keyla exclaims, her eyes shining with joy and, Joann suspects, relief.

Then it’s back to the two robots. They wander through a desert for a while, and Joann takes the opportunity to eat some pizza.

The little one gets ambushed and zapped by robed creatures with glowing eyes. Keyla admits, “This part used to scare me when I was really little.”

Joann pictures young Keyla, worried about the rolling droid and frightened of the scurrying creatures. “I’m sure you were super cute.”

“Oh, that reminds me, check this out!” Keyla says. She touches a part of her implant and her eye starts to glow in the dim light. “Utinni!”

Joann gives a short laugh. “You nerd!”

Keyla smiles, pleased with herself, and turns the light off.

The droids get reunited, and then some farmers start looking them over to buy some. The boy is obviously going to be a major character. “He’s kinda whiny,” Joann observes. “Cute hair, though.”

That evening, the boy goes out to watch the suns setting. “You know, if this were really a binary system--” Joann begins.

“Don’t you dare!” Keyla laughs, pointing a warning finger. “Just enjoy it, okay?”

Joann is silent for a moment. “This music is really good,” she admits.

“I have about a thousand versions of the soundtrack,” Keyla says, her voice pleased.

The boy meets a space wizard, who gives him a laser sword. “Now that is cool,” Joann says. Keyla does a tiny, triumphant fist-pump. Joann is glad she did not add that she thinks the effect is kind of cheesy.

The space wizard takes the boy to a bar, where they meet a shaggy, seven-foot creature and a pirate.

Joann nudges Keyla. “I’ll bet he’s your favorite. I can tell.”

Keyla nearly fumbles her pizza. “I like a lot of them!”

“Mm-hm,” Joann says knowingly.

Shortly after, the pirate fries a bug-eyed alien, flips a coin to the bartender, and saunters out. 

“Oh, he is totally your favorite!” Joann teases.

“Okay fine he’s my favorite,” Keyla admits quickly.

Joann grins proudly. “I know your taste.”

Keyla’s reply is more subdued. “Well, maybe you know my taste in men.”

Joann is still puzzling that out when the characters board a spaceship and blast off. As they flee the bad guys, the characters say something about hyperspace, lightspeed, and a navicomputer. “A what now?” Joann asks, shaking her head.

Keyla gives an exaggerated shrug and pulls a comical face, and the two helm officers share a chuckle.

They end up on a space station, where they rescue the princess. Things don’t go according to plan, and the princess gives the others a piece of her mind.

It is Keyla’s turn to nudge Joann. “I think she’s your favorite,” she says, her smile mischievous.

Joann’s heart gives a little thump, and she finds herself saying, “Oh, so you know my taste in women?” It comes out much flirtier than she intended. Keyla does not reply, which may be a bad sign, but she is smiling, so surely that is a good sign?

The dark lord kills the space wizard in a laser sword duel, and the remaining heroes flee on the pirate’s ship to the good guys’ base. The boy attends a briefing about the evil space station and joins a squadron of space fighter planes to take it out.

Keyla keeps checking on Joann, perhaps wondering why she is not talking much. Keyla gives a quiet laugh and says, “If you can believe it, when this first came out, the special effects were considered cutting edge. The film won a big award for them.”

She looks so tentative that Joann tries to reassure her. “No, they’re good. I mean, okay they’re kind of old, but they’re…” She searches for the right word. “...charming.” Seeing the relief on Keyla’s face, she adds, “And the music really helps!”

Keyla’s eyes widen and she waves her hands as though trying to convey something she is not sure about. “Yes! Yes, that’s exactly it!”

Just when all seems lost, the pirate returns and sends the dark lord’s ship spinning out of control. The boy makes an impossible shot and destroys the evil space station, and they all return for hugs and medals.

Joann grins. Keyla looks at her expectantly as the music swells and the credits start playing. “Well?”

Joann tries to put her feelings into words. The best she can manage is to say, “They’re friends!”

“Yes!” Keyla laughs. Before Joann can react, Keyla leans over and embraces Joann. “You get it!” Joann hugs her back as best she can at the angle. When Keyla releases the hug, her voice is full of relief. “I'm so glad. If you like Star Wars…” She trails off.

Suddenly the room feels different, smaller somehow, and Joann is aware of how close they are sitting. “What? If I like Star Wars…?”

It is hard to tell in the dim light, but Keyla may be blushing. After only a slight pause, she says, “Then we’re going to have to watch them all!”

Joann could not agree more.


End file.
